A Look Back - September 2021
After over two years Jenn and I were finally able to travel abroad together and it was magical. After a lot of back and forth we booked a trip to the Maldives and it was the best decision we made all year. The rest of the month wasn’t too bad either!
RECAP OF THE MONTH
As I write this I can’t believe it was only a month ago that the city got a tornado warning and its second “biggest storm of the century” of the summer. It was one of the craziest storms I’ve ever lived through and we couldn’t have been more grateful that day to have had the indoor dog run in our building, it would have been a nightmare without it. The images coming from that evening’s night matches at the US Open were something out of an apocalyptic movie. I’ll never forget waking up the next morning to a number of text messages asking if we survived the storm and of course like most storms the next day was absolutely beautiful.
Speaking of the next day we finally got to see our first live performance since March 2020. Although Broadway still had a week or so to fully re-open we were lucky enough to get tickets to see Merry Wives in Central Park. Jenn has always wanted to go see Shakespeare in the Park which usually takes place in the summer each year but we had never been able to get tickets. Luckily Jenn’s old co-worker/friend got extras so we were able to have an evening out in the park.
The next day, Friday the 3rd of September, we purchased tickets to see Isaiah J. Thompson at Dizzy’s in Lincoln Center. We had been meaning to see jazz there since we moved here and finally were able to go. We got there early and got drinks (Manhattan for me and French 75 for Jenn) and enjoyed 90 minutes of pure perfection. We became fans instantaneously of Isaiah’s music and the band was slamming for the sold-out crowd. It was such a fun evening and one that started to make things feel normal again.
The next morning we kept the party train alive and had brunch at Cookshop.
The next morning we kept the party alive and went to brunch at Cookshop. It’s funny I think both Jenn and I were under the impression when we booked reservations here that we hadn’t gone here before but right when we arrived it hit that we had gone here right before the pandemic. Luckily it was just as good the second time. I had a Bloody Mary and their Breakfast Sandwich, Jenn had a Bellini and Huevos Rancheros. We even split their Beignets which are always a highlight. We left brunch went to a nearby bookstore, walked the High Line and went to Hudson Yards and did some window shopping. We rested for the rest of the day and finished off the weekend with a beautiful Central Park walk with Frasier.
And like that, we were ebbing into the middle of the month and we had a big decision to make. What to do about the time off we had requested for the end of September. We were really oscillating between Europe and the Maldives. There were a couple of factors that went into it but at the end of the day, the ease of which we could get in and out of the Maldives and the fact that we’d be in a less crowded area (thus less COVID concern) made the Maldives the right choice for us. So we spent the entire weekend booking our trip and even walking down to Bloomingdales on the east side to pick up a bathing suit for me. From the time we hit book to the trip was less than two weeks, so we went into full trip prep from then on.
And after some long work days, a COVID test, and lots of weather checking we were headed off to the Maldives and a day in Abu Dhabi on the way home. I won’t go through the entire trip as we have each day chronicled in great detail but I will say it was a trip of a lifetime and at the perfect time in our life. The last two years have been so incredibly stressful that taking the foot completely off the gas pedal and disconnecting from the world for almost two weeks was a dream that I’ll never forget. One of my favorite moments was being wide awake on our first day in the Maldives and watching the sunrise. I don’t think I’ve ever done that in my life and it’s a shame because it’s truly a majestic experience.
We arrived back on Sunday the 26th after a 14-hour flight from Abu Dhabi. Frasier was dropped off the next day and it took me almost the entire rest of the week to get back on schedule. The month ended with me going back to the office (two days a week) for the first time since March. Still not a fan, but two days a week isn’t terrible. And then the month came to a close. I’m so grateful that we were able to travel, that we were safe, and that we had as great of a time as we did. I wouldn’t have traded it for the world.
TV WE WATCHED
This might be the least amount of TV we’ve watched in a while. We started the first season of The Sopranos which we have fallen in love with. I’m not sure why it took us so long to finally get to it but with the prequel movie coming out in October we figured we’d jump in. We did wrap up the latest season of The Amazing Race which was fantastic but also sad given it might be a long time until we get a new season.
The other big show we started and finished this month was Sex Education Season 3 which we started and finished in the Maldives. Such a great show and it continues to be even in its third season.
BOOKS I READ (OR LISTENED TO)
Outside of Middlegame which I read for GamersRead, the other two books were actually quite good this month. Jake gave me The Institute after our Iceland trip and I really enjoyed this Stephen King thriller with supernatural elements. It’s not his best work but it continues to show just how good of a writer he is.
I also continued the William Warwick series from Jeffrey Archer. This is the weakest of the series so far but it still had the typical Archer tropes that keep me coming back to all of his books.
MOVIES WE WATCHED
All three of this month’s movies were watched on the flight back from Abu Dhabi to New York. We left early in the morning so I was wide awake for the entire 14-hour flight so I was able to get three movies in. Of them, I really enjoyed Nobody and A Quiet Place 2. Nobody was a very surprising action movie that had a good pace and some fun twists. A Quiet Place 2 was as good as the original while still being different even if some things could have been a little tighter.
THEATER WE SAW
And we’re almost back. This will hopefully be the last month of limited updates but thanks to Jenn’s former co-worker we were able to get tickets to see Shakespeare in the Park and we saw Merry Wives and had a great time. It was so nice being in a crowd again and seeing a live show, especially a day after one of the biggest storms hit NYC in quite some time. It wasn’t our favorite production ever but it was overshadowed by a beautiful evening and watching live theater again.
GAMES I'VE BEEN PLAYING
The new sports game season is upon us and with it came three of my favorite games of the year. It’s funny each year it feels like I latch on to a different series and this year it’s Madden. It had the biggest overhaul and I am really enjoying throwing into some fantasy draft franchises and playing through seasons.
2021 GOAL TRACKING
Goal #1: Read 45 Books: I've read 35 books and am on track to hit my goal.
Goal #2: Keep Weight Under 140: I've yet to go over 140lbs
Goal #3: 12 Monthly Recaps: 9 for 9.
